U HAUL AGAINST EXPLORERS!!!!

[GeorgeC]

Has there been any documentation of a UHaul trailer causing an accident or rollover of an Exp? I haven't heard of any. I can't believe that UHaul can make a case that the trailer is going to make the Explorer more inclined to rollover. That is a crock and we all know it. If anything, it might improve it. I have been studying a lot about center of gravity (CG) lately since I am taking flight training. I can not believe it is any worse than on most other SUV's. I think this is a press byped thing to hurt Ford and maybe Bridgestone/Firestone.

I have been driving Explorers for 11 years. I have always felt safe in them. I have never had a blowout either. I just can't believe that it is any worse than in many other SUVs. My daughter has a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have driven it a lot and it's CG feels completely different on it when cornering.

The clerk yesterday at UHaul said he felt that UHaul just does not want to see a wreck or rollover with a UHaul on the back. Bad press. I just still don't see how they can discriminate like this. I guess there are no laws to counter that like in housing. In my business I can only refuse someone if they haven't paid or won't pay their bill. But, I can't refuse service to them if they have. If I am insured and I buy their(UHaul's) insurance for the rental then what is their problem? That is why there is high insurance on rentals anyway. I don't think anyone purposely rents to just go out and have an accident. I rent a plane twice a week to take flying lessons. At $104/hr. That includes fuel and insurance. They don't ask questions or refuse service if you pay the bill. They don't ask what I had to eat or if my wife and I had a fight or if I took my medicine. Of course there is a certified instructor with me. Maybe this is not related to this issue but I thought I would point it out.

It just makes me furious when someone does this kind of thing. I have been a loyal UHaul renter for years. But it will be a cold day in ____ before I do anything else with them. I did buy some boxes yesterday, but that was a have to case. I almost backed out of that after talking to the guy. I asked him if I could get my camera and take pictures of those posters on the wall with the Explorers as the demonstration of pulling with an SUV. He said he didn't ccare, but I didn't do it and just left.

And so it goes....

 

[RileyNugent]

Originally posted by GeorgeC
“I just still don't see how they can discriminate like this. I guess there are no laws to counter that like in housing. In my business I can only refuse someone if they haven't paid or won't pay their bill.”
--------------------------------------------------

Unlike discrimination in housing on race, sex, marital status, etc., owning an explorer is not a protected class. Presumably even a landlord like U-Haul could refuse to rent to you because you own an Explorer.

Perhaps if this is a strong-arm technique by Uhaul to get ford to do something, maybe Ford might have a cause of action under some Antitrust provision. I really don't know. Perhaps some one who knows more about Antitrust laws could explain that. We all know that Uhaul has a virtual monopoly on the state-to-state trailer rental service. I think we need to contact Ford. Here is a site that has most of the major contacts for Ford Officials. http://www.blueovalnews.com/contacts/ford.htm

No matter how much we like our Explorers, we need to let FORD know that we can't buy their products if they are going to allow Uhaul and other companies to refuse service to us. What's next? Is the boat dealer going to refuse to sell me a boat/trailer combination because I own an Explorer? The ability to tow was a major reason why you bought your Explorer. I feel for the guys who just put out 35,000 or more for a new Explorer.

 

[fmsintx]

Explorer and U-Haul

I have been reading about the ban on U-haul connecting to an Explorer. It is brand discrimination! Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda and Rangers all share the same frams and basic bodys, so why just Explorer?

I got the following from U-Haul, and reply was that Explorer owners will attack, so please go to www.uhaul.com to complain and demand an explaination, so they will at lease think about reversal of the opinion.

THE NOTE.....
You state the reason is "NOT SAFETY ISSUES" but why else would there be any lawsuits between owners of Explorer and U-Haul?

Could the number of lawsuits relate to the excessive number of Explorers being used to haul a U-Haul as opposed to other vehicles? If the Mazda, Mercury, Lincoln and Rangers are not a part of this BAN, is that because they are just not used as often to haul one of your trailers.

This really seems BOGUS. There is a movement afoot to get to the bottom of the issue, tell your supervisor.


In a message dated 2/15/2004 6:22:13 PM Central Standard Time, uhaul_customer_service@uhaul.com writes:
Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for your request for information on our policy regarding Ford
Explorers.

This policy is not related to safety issues. U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations. This is
an unusual circumstance and we do not like having to make this decision.

We do not like saying “no” to our customers and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

We are asking you for another chance in working with you to find alternative options to help with your move.

Sincerely,
Deanna Gilling
U-Haul Customer Service
***********************************

WRITE THEM and they will listen.

fmsintx and just a little

 

[Blee1099]

Welcome to the site.. Yeah we already had that discussion along time ago when the news of U-haul's policy.

 

[fmsintx]

Can't be that long ago, they just started the policy in late December early January.

If this is old then have the Explorer bunch been on the offensive with Uhaul?

 

[shadow]

I allready did what you did and complained to u-haul and got the dame bullshit excuse from the company. it makes no sense and and is not justified in any way.

I know for damned sure if I owned that company I would not cut off sales to the country's leading selling SUV for the last 8 to 10 years because it's owners sue more, HELLO there are alot more of us renting their crap than any other maker.

anyway this subject really gets under ny skin, and my blood pressure is rising just replying to this.

fight and be heard

 

[JPA1982]

well i'm super pissed about this, and i just gave them a piece of my mind, see what kind of crap they come back with on me, prob same stuff everyone else has got, but have to be heard, right! i'll let u know the outcome, we need more to voice their feelings, or start a list, print everyones name and send a petition in to them, i mean come on, how many people are part of this site?
that has to tell them something

 

[lonestar]

Originally posted by fmsintx
Can't be that long ago, they just started the policy in late December early January.

If this is old then have the Explorer bunch been on the offensive with Uhaul?

There are 19 pages here, not to mention the Sport-Trac Forum, the Uhaul Forum and the Explorer Owner Petition, all linked from here.

 

[general x]

i havent read all the pages. i dont have that much of my life left (and im 16) what the hell??i mean if it aint the rollover issue its "buisness" what kind of buisness? "o lets ban the ford explorer because statistics show it rolls alot" well maybe statistics show that it rolls alot because its the best selling suv in canada and the us. DOESNT THAT ADD UP TO MORE EXPLORERS THAT HAVE THE POSSIBILITY TO ROLL??? i cant begin to imagine how many drivers are driving at 50km in a 70 zone in summer and how many are flying through a school zone. that doesnt mean there all driving explorers. Besides the fact that firestone tires are what apperently caused the problems...lets see how many cars run that kind of tire????well we have 4 tires for each car and millions apon millions of cars. well does this mean that explorers should be allowed to tow a trailer but all cars with firestones should be kept out of the picture? if they put the hitchs on the explorers shouldnt that say that this suv has been approved by the u-haul installer that it is safe to tow. HOLD ON. u-haul has made a buisness decition and now they arent safe to use. of corse it has nothing to do with the rep of the explorers it's just buisness.....you see we have decided that we dont want to make money off explorer owners....maybe navajo owners.....then mountaneer owners....sport trac and ranger owners???? how about bronco owners...hell your gunna have to rent a tractor to tow a trailer if this keeps up. is anyone telling buget to start making top trailers because there about to get alot of buisness. i dont use these trailers and i probably never will now but i still support any kind of u-haul boycotting or what not

 

[Dre]

we can do whatever we can to protest but there's really no real way to hurt U-Haul... they will not rent trailers to us in the first place so basically they are not loosing anything if we boycot them..... unless we would go in with another car... or is it a good move to make some more money? cause if they will not hook it up to an Explorer they can rent you a pick-up or something else and hook it up... right? what a bunch of crap... they really suck...

and it's not like they will loose much sleep over this Explorer issue...

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

if i ever rent a u-haul trailer in the near future,

i'll go and pick it up with my dad's truck, and then go home and hook it up to my Explorer, take a picture of it,
and then i would return the trailer behind my Explorer, and if they argue with me over it i'll just say, Hey your trailer made it back in one piece didn't it!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Besides the fact that firestone tires are what apperently caused the problems

The blame doesm't entirely rest on Firestone. They aren't the one that advised the public to run them at 26psi.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Originally posted by Ford_Racing_Guy
if i ever rent a u-haul trailer in the near future,

i'll go and pick it up with my dad's truck, and then go home and hook it up to my Explorer, take a picture of it,
and then i would return the trailer behind my Explorer, and if they argue with me over it i'll just say, Hey your trailer made it back in one piece didn't it!

That'll show 'em, maybe they'll sue you for breach of contract too

 

[pbo2274]

CNN money page report

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U-Haul International Inc. is prohibiting its stores from renting its trailers to customers driving Ford Explorers, saying it can no longer afford to defend product liability lawsuits related to the best-selling sport/utility vehicle, according to a published report.

The Detroit News reported the move Thursday, saying the ban went into effect Dec. 22, and that the company told it the move was not related to safety, just the litigation record.

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"U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations," the paper quoted a company spokeswoman as saying. "The decision is not based on one accident. It's based on several different lawsuits going on for several years."

The move comes as Ford (F: Research, Estimates), the No. 2 automaker, has moved to put problems related to fatal accidents involving the Explorer and Firestone tires behind it. Those problems, which Ford blamed on tire problems, prompted two massive tire recalls in 2000 and 2001.

A Ford spokesman told the Detroit News that U-Haul's decision was "surprising and disappointing.

"This is all about runaway litigation and trial lawyers forcing businesses to make unfortunate decisions for fear of lawsuits," said Ford spokesman Jon Harmon.

U-Haul is North America's largest trailer rental company with more than 17,000 outlets, according to the News. The company is a unit of Amerco (UHALQ: Research, Estimates), which filed for bankruptcy court protection in June. That bankruptcy was unrelated to litigation problems involving the Explorer, though.

Company officials would not disclose the number of lawsuits involving Explorer that named U-Haul.

The paper said that the ban does not include the Mercury Mountaineer, which is mechanically virtually identical to the Explorer.

 

[wpurple]

Now that there is tire/rollover problems with the Expedition, will U-Haul not rent to them too?

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

what about Jeeps?


the early models have really ****ty handling

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by Ford_Racing_Guy
what about Jeeps?


the early models have really ****ty handling

Ok with a hardtop (or so I have heard). Not enough lawsuits involving Jeeps apparently.

 

[Majisto]

Originally posted by Mbrooks420
The blame doesm't entirely rest on Firestone. They aren't the one that advised the public to run them at 26psi.

Still were bad molds, and anybody who actually keeps their tires at 26 doesn't know anything about the tires. If this is true, why is the Mountaineer not banned?

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by Majisto
If this is true, why is the Mountaineer not banned?

Because Uhaul is stupid .

 

[Mbrooks420]

Still were bad molds, and anybody who actually keeps their tires at 26 doesn't know anything about the tires. If this is true, why is the Mountaineer not banned?

People who don't know anything about tires run the recomended pressure, which is what killed some poeple. A company is liable for what they recommend. If it were expected that everyone knew what psi to run their tires, there would be no recomendation. Both Firestone, and Ford are to blame. The Mountaineer isn't banned because there isn't the bad stigma around it like the Explorer, and apparently there hasn't been enough lawsuits involving Mountaineers.